Fashion without barriers

·24 min·2 clips

A blind BBC presenter explains why she can't learn hairstyles from YouTube videos.

The episode begins by introducing the topic of adaptive fashion for people with disabilities, noting that one in six people globally has a disability. Host Myra Anubi first speaks with Emma Tracey, a blind BBC presenter, who describes the difficulties of styling hair without sight and her experience at a workshop in East London for blind and visually impaired women, led by hairstylist Annika Fone. The workshop teaches tactile techniques using mannequin heads, with participants like Taylor Notcut and Aqua Ephraim sharing how it changed their relationship with their hair. The discussion then shifts to adaptive clothing, featuring interviews with two entrepreneurs: Delma Shabalala, founder of Wearapy in South Africa, who designs clothing for people with conditions like multiple sclerosis, and Shamla Ramasamy, founder of Purple Threads Adaptive in Singapore, who focuses on inclusive clothing for seniors and people with disabilities. Both highlight the lack of options in their regions and share specific design solutions, such as side zips for wheelchair users and magnetic closures for arthritis. The episode also includes a report by Claire Bowes on Differently Enabled, a London company working on body-scanning technology to create accurate avatars for custom clothing fit, founded by Craig Crawford after his own experience with disability post-COVID-19. The technology is trialed with AJ Clements, a businessman designing a 'pirate shirt' for a disability fashion show, though challenges remain, such as the scanner requiring users to stand out of wheelchairs. The episode concludes with an update that Shabalala and Ramasamy have connected and are collaborating to raise awareness, emphasizing the show's role in fostering solutions.

As heard by us

Adaptive design becomes a question of dignity, mobility, and who gets more choice in what they wear.

People Fixing the World follows adaptive fashion as a practical design challenge for people living with disabilities, where style, independence, and dignity all have to work together.

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Why you'd press play

See how a side zip can turn a glamorous gown into clothing someone can put on alone.

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